Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Based on the described facts in your inquiry, it appears your risk of a lawsuit re trademark or corporate infringement is low. Such legal action would depend on whether your marketing and sale of products, because of similarity to and being in the same market as products of the other company with the same name, represent an infringement, assuming the mark and name of the other company precedes that of yours. You may want to check out your products and their marketing for assurance that such issues do not exist.

There are two trademark issues here. One is if they have either established a consumer connection to the name in your area or if they registered the name in the US. The other trademark issue is jewelry specific regarding the National Stamp Act of 1906 which requires you to have a registered trademarkif you are engaged in interstate commerce. In either case it would pay to have an attorney familiar with trademark law look over the issue before you spend a lot of money on marketing.

As a Franchise Attorney I agree with the other attorney answers. Is the Canadian company doing business in the U.S. and have they registered their trademark here? Also, "gold mining" and "retail jewelry" are two different categories, so that's a big plus in your favor. Consult with a good trademark or franchise attorney in your area for specific advice.

Mr. Franchise - Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D.

Franchise Foundations, a Professional Corporation